FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (TB&P) — As Northwest Arkansas continues its journey to becoming a healthcare destination, one group of doctors is already there. Over the past 12 years, Dr. Josh Roller and his team of bariatric specialty surgeons and dietitians have created a practice that is a destination for more than 6,000 people seeking permanent weight loss solutions.
With the ECEN credential, Roller added Walmart Inc. as one of its corporate partners. Roller said Walmart added coverage of bariatric surgery to its health plan about two years ago. Today, Roller is one of five Centers of Excellence clinics for Walmart employees seeking bariatric surgery.
Roller said his practice is in good company. Walmart has health system partners in 18 cities around the country with the likes of Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Geisinger Health System and Memorial Hermann in Houston. Roller, working with Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, is the only COE partner in Walmart’s home state of Arkansas.
Roller said Walmart has more than a million employees in the U.S. His clinic is one of five choices those employees have for bariatric surgical care under the company’s health insurance plan. Walmart is not the first corporate partner for Roller. His practice is the exclusive bariatric surgical choice for J.B. Hunt Transport, Simmons Foods and George’s. Roller also has partnerships with the University of Arkansas, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, Lowe’s, Tesla and McKesson Drug.
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